Posts Tagged ‘Rick Roy’

My friend and fellow pro freerider, Tanner Thomas and and I drove over 52 hours 2,700 miles from Morro Bay, CA to the 2014 Daytona Beach Freeride in Daytona Beach, Florida. We have been pulling the team RICKTER trailer, loaded up with the latest and greatest of the 2014 RICKTER line up powered by DASA Racing, pushed by Skat-Trak Magnum pumps, and built by T.C. Freeride. The Rickter west coast team coming to the event consists of riders Mark Gomez, Tanner Thomas, Taylor Curtis, Randy Lawlor, Brandon Lawlor, Abraham Ho, Rick Roy, and Jeff Bolte. Keep an eye out at the 2014 Daytona Beach Freeride event for the entire team and skis! Tanner and I filmed a video on the road which is featured bellow. We are here now at the event and are ready for a great weekend. Thank you everyone for your support to get us here safely and supported with things to read about while being on the road for so long.

At the World Finals in Lake Havasu this year, I had a chance to discuss my 2014 goals with a few companies and current sponsors to work out a program that would mutually benefit my own riding and the ability to make it to more events as well, in order to best represent the combined sponsors that I have. I had the opportunity to have a long discussion with Rick Roy, the man behind his own factory in Thailand creating professional grade Freestyle hulls at RICKTER-RRP. I also had the opportunity to ride what will be close to my set up at body beach thanks to Taylor Curtis of T.C.Freeride, this is when I knew this would be the ski I can do damage with. After further discussions over emails, Rick and I came to a great sponsorship agreement as I am officially now riding for RICKTER- RRP for 2014.

My 2014 RICKTER FR2 Evo-1 Hull:

I had an opportunity to ride the Blowsion Rickter Evo-1 with their tubbies installed and what I felt is that it allowed the Evo to lean over to pivot on the tubbies and roll through the turns which suits my style of riding. Rick welcomed my feedback and preference and even offered to help install these at the factory to have it look one with the ski, which came out extremely nice in my opinion. Besides the tubbies, the Evo 1 has the other advantages to the hull design such as being -6 inches shorter than a yamaha superjet, nose mounted handlepole bracket/pivot point, low profile hood for stronger hull design, swooping front nose rocker and bond line rail, and rear rocker which is adjustable by removable sponsons, improved pump intake design, and much more.

Hydro-Turf

All Rickter hulls come with Rickter brand EVA installed on the hulls from the factory. EVA, is better known as traction matting or “Turf”. Being that one of my main and most valued sponsors for the last 6 years is Hydro-Turf, I Sent out my own assortment of Hydro-Turf’s unique cut and color mating to be installed at the factory in Thailand. I sent their Blue on white 2-Tone Waffle Cut for the rails/sides of the tray and White Waffle cut for the base to be laid on top of their 26mm Plush Underpad and a 1″ Kick Tail Wedge. Hydro-Turf not only looks unique with all of the available cuts and colors, but also has always offered me the most superior, durability and traction in the most harsh and slippery conditions. The 26mm Plush Underpad provides crucial support to my body as it absorbs the high impact energy from big air landings and flat lands which happen from time to time in the surf. Without Hydro-Turf’s underpad, a lot of riders including myself, would not be walking away from the things they throw. The 1″ Kick Tail Wedge. has become vital to my riding offering me the leverage and allows my heel to drive into it so I can stay locked in during hard slashes and turns. The RRP Factory surprised me yet again with a custom integrated EVA shaped front foothold into the front of my tray.

Hydro-Turf will also be supporting me to make it possible to attend many events including a few tour stops on the International IFWA Freeride Tour! Thank you Hydro-Turf!

Engine by DASA Racing – 1000cc

This year I will be going skyward with the insane power from my new DASA built 10mm stroke 1000cc billet power valve 2 cylinder engine. Kyle Kennedy, watercraft division manager at DASA, agreed to support me for 2014 by building me an engine that will deliver an insane amount of power for my surf riding and I will also be able to perform flat water back flips my new Rickter. This will make my Rickter a modern “all around” performance jetski for my 2014 planned season of both surf and flat water events. I will not be competitive in any flatwater freestyle classes by CC limit but the overall goal is to be able to perform to the best of my ability with any water conditions I come across. Thank you Kyle & DASA!

Magnum Pump by Skat-Trak set up by Impros

To get this Rickter airborne I need to process the water that my DASA engine is spooling up, this calls for the new Skat Trak 155mm Magnum pump. I am really thankful for David at Impros for being my standing Impeller sponsor over the last few years. He has always taken care of me and this year I am happy to say that I am maintaining that relationship with the added and now combined sponsorship of both Impros Impellers and Skat-Trak. Both have come together to support me with this 155 Magnum pump. Thanks to Michelle and Glen at Skat Trak for getting it done for me in such a rushed time frame! Another big thanks goes out to Brian Vergin and Chris Anyzeski at Thrust Innovations for supporting me this year with some of his custom products including the 155mm EZ-Flow Pro Trim kit. This Trim system is the best design currently in the industry which will help me bring back flips around on flat water and create better set up wakes.

My Rickter Built by Taylor Curtis (T.C. Freeride)

Taylor Curtis is a pro freerider I have looked up to since I first got involved. Taylor has made his name in the industry through his aggressive power surfing, big wave riding, insane surf re-entries, and now for building pro level Rickter Jetskis, including my own through his business T.C Freeride. My Rickter hull and components are currently at Taylor’s shop getting assembled. These Rickters do not reach their full potential unless they are built right. Taylor has the extensive knowledge working hand and hand with RRP over the last few years through the developments in freestyle technology. I am absolutely stoked to know that my Rickter is going to be “Taylor made,” and will be dialed in perfectly by T.C. Freeride! Thank you for supporting me Taylor!

WORX Racing Components

Gary and Emma Watson have recently taken over and are currently re-branding WORX Racing Components. Gary Watson has been in the PWC scene for years doing amazing research and development to create professional components in order to make some of the fastest skis coming out of Australia. They have taken me under their wing as one of my major 2014 sponsors. I will be running their new WORX 242 Rickter Scoop grate as well as a few other new developing components. WORX is also a massive support to help me travel this year to compete on the IFWA Freeride tour! Thank you very much for your extended support WORX!

Hot Products Support

Thanks to Tom Perry and Scott Saito Hot Products USA I have two new 46mm Mikuni Carburetors along with a laundry list of other parts to put this Rickter together. Hot Products is also the USA distribution center for all RRP products helping me communicate and get the parts that I need during this tight deadline. I would not have been able to pull this build off without Hot Product’s support and networking in 2014.

First Stop: Daytona Beach Freeride Jan 16th 2014

On January 10th my Alaskan brother in freeride and fellow Rickter/Liquid Militia Clothing team mate Tanner Thomas flies in from his rock in Ketchikan Alaska to Taylor Curtis’s house. We will help Tanner finish his new Evo-1, load up the Rickter support trailer with all of the West Coast Rickter team skis and drive the 5,500 mile round trip to the Grand Seas Resort for the 2014 Thrust Innovations Daytona Beach Freeride event and back. Look for Tanner, the Rickter Freeride team, and I at the RICKTER team trailer on the beach at the 2014 Daytona Beach Freeride. See you guys there!

More updates to come very soon!

-Mark

Take The RICKTER Factory Tour Video

See for yourself how RICKTER hulls are build and how I know RRP’s quality and manufacturing process is the best in the industry!

For the last two weeks I have been slowly but surely rebuilding my motor with some new and interesting parts.

Within the last three weeks, I have received my engine parts from my sponsor Paul Lehr of Lehr Performance Watercraft. Paul did many great things to dial in my engine.
His services included:
-Porting my cylinder for low end power
-Lightening my flywheel for improved throttle response
-Boring my pump nozzle to increase thrust
-Epoxied the gap on my intake manifold.
-Jetted and dialed in my 44mm carburetors to the porting specs.
-Bored and port matched my factory pipe, manifold, and head pipe.

I am very excited to feel the light yet powerful punch this motor will deliver out in the surf!
My hat is off to Paul, he did great work to give me the best I can get with what I have.

A Week later I received a HUGE package from Wamilton with the few parts that I needed to complete my motor rebuild and a few items that just blew me away!

Wamilton sent me over $2,000 worth of parts and his products, including:
-A heavy duty Rick Roy handlepole Bracket
-A carbon fiber Factory Pipe chamber
-2 ADA 33cc domes for the ADA girdled head they gave to me in Havasu
-2 Pistons from their 2008 superjets that are ran once from factory before they tear them apart.
-Wamilton’s signature lowered hood system with 2 hand holds. (I will paint black)
-A carbon fiber lowered nose piece

I was so excited when I received these parts, I ripped off my stock hood and handle pole, and laid everything together to catch a glimpse of my future ski.

I did not expect Wamilton to send me these outstanding parts. He and the rest of the shop family’s trust and belief in me is appreciated and respected beyond any words I can think of.

Now that I have all my parts, it is all on me to finish the job, and get back into the water as soon as I can.

I started with my motor work at my sponsor shop and work, Pacific Motorsports In Brea, CA. Gordon the owner has contributed many small, and big parts I needed including: All gaskets & seals for the motor, carburetor rebuild parts, the tools, necessary products, and most of all his time to guide and assist me through the entire rebuild process. I am very thankful for his support. His logo may not be the loudest speaking on my ski, Yet without the things he contributes towards my riding progress, I would not be where I am today.

The entire build did not take too long. I worked between every non-working, and school gap I could be in the shop.

I began the entire build process by sandblasting almost all of my engine parts and repainting it a full gloss black paint. From there, with the help of Gordon for technical processes, I was able to get the motor from being in pieces in my work bay, to sitting on my dresser ready to rock in a week.

Here are the pictures from the build process:

To keep track of the complete build project, visit my build thread on at x-h2o.com here.

That is where I am right now. Later this week I plan to haul the hull and hood to my fiberglass sponsor, and good friends at Performance Fiberglass to begin the work on the hull.